


Starstruck

by Anonymous



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Actor Sid, Alternate Universe, Captain Geno, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 09:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11010315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The first time Geno sees Sidney Crosby he’s crying into Tanger’s shoulder as Sid learns how to walk again on the big screen.





	Starstruck

The first time Geno sees Sidney Crosby he’s crying into Tanger’s shoulder as Sid learns how to walk again on the big screen. 

Tanger scoffs and pushes him off as Sid takes his first step after a year and a half in a wheelchair and the woman sitting in front of them shushes them. 

When the lights come on Geno is wiping his eyes and Tanger is rolling his. 

“You know I’m fine with you showing emotion,” Tanger says as they file out of the theater. “But could you maybe not do it on my sweater.”

“You not cry. Heartless.” Geno sniffles. 

“I’m not heartless, I just know the difference between reality and fiction.”

Geno slaps his hand against the movie poster hanging on the wall outside of the theater and Tanger smiles apologetically at the couples walking past them. “Is based on true story,” Geno says as he taps the small text right beneath the title. “Reality. He can’t walk after car accident. Lose everything. Can’t play hockey. Work so hard and comes back. Scores game winning goal. No heart.”

“You have too much heart. You cried last week at that movie where the dog died.”

Geno chases after him through the lobby. “You cry too.”

“Dogs are different.” Tanger pushes his way through the front doors and doesn’t hold them for Geno. “Everyone cries over dogs.”

“Fine, fine. But he good actor, right?”

“Oh yeah. Sid’s pretty good.”

“Pretty good. He great.”

Tanger shrugs and hits the unlock button on his keys. The headlights on the car blink halfway across the parking lot. “He takes on some really interesting roles. Always does a good job with them.”

“Roles? He in other things?”

“Crosby’s been around forever.” Tanger steps off the curb and gives the finger to a car that doesn’t yield for them. 

The boy on the screen looked like….a boy. “Forever? But so young?”

“Sid’s one of those child stars that managed to stay out of rehab. So far. He’s done a ton of stuff. You didn’t get his TV show over in Russia?”

“Television. He on TV?”

“Used to be. A spy show. It was good. I think he got an Emmy for it.”

Geno hums and pulls open the passenger side door. 

*

He spends the rest of his night switching back and forth between watching clips of Sidney giving interviews on YouTube and buying every movie of his on Amazon. 

The box set of his show is cheap but Geno spends extra on next day shipping.

He burns through the whole series the following day after practice. 

*

Geno finds Sid to be incredibly charming and handsome and just the right amount of awkward when he laughs so hard that he honks which in turn, makes him blush and Geno watches the same interview of him on Conan until his own face hurts from smiling. 

*

He starts to bring Sid’s movies over for movie night and it takes Tanger four weeks before he finally figures it out.

He slowly pulls the beer bottle away from his lips and squints at Geno.

Geno pretends to ignore them and focuses on Sid on the screen. It’s a rom-com this week and Sid is walking home in the rain after a perfect first date. He’s smiling and his t-shirt is sticking to his skin. There’s a pop song playing in the background until the picture freezes.

“Hey.” He finally has to look at Tanger who has the remote in his hand and his finger on the pause button.

“I can’t believe it took me this long to catch on. I feel so stupid.”

“You are stupid,” Geno grumbles. “Start movie.”

“Sidney Crosby is in all these movies. This is a marathon. You have a crush.”

“No.”

“Yes. A big crush. You think he’s beautiful,” Tanger sing-songs. “You want to hold his hand and tell him he’s pretty and walk with him in the rain.”

“Talking crazy. Play movie.”

Tanger presses play then crosses his arms over his chest and leans back against the cushions. “You know I don’t blame you. He is a really good actor and he has a halfway decent butt.”

Geno looks back at him and snaps “is best butt” and Tanger’s lips curl into a slow smile. 

“You have a crush.”

“No. Not a crush. That’s stupid, it could never happen. Never even meet him. Probably never will. Probably has a girlfriend. Or boyfriend.” Geno doesn’t want to assume. But he always doesn’t want to get his hopes up. “Stupid.”

Tanger pauses the movie again and bumps his fist against Geno’s shoulder. “Of course it’s stupid. Having a crush on someone you’ll never meet is the stupidest thing you can ever do but everyone does it. It’s dumb and fun. Low risk. No chance of heartbreak. So go ahead, you date Sidney Crosby in your head. Have fun.” He hits play. “Just leave me out of it and let me pick the movie next week.”

*

He’s not convinced and he tries to stop it.

He doesn’t watch his movies and he only watches clips of him on YouTube on the weekends.

Sid’s one of the only celebrities around that doesn't have any kind of social media so it’s easy to avoid him.

It’s easy until Tanger sends him a text telling him that Sid’s been nominated for an Oscar for his part in the hockey movie and Geno spends the next week watching Sid tell the same story over and over again about how he felt when he got the call telling him the good news. 

He looks sleepy and disheveled in the first interview. Up too early on West Coast time but he smiles as Matt Lauer congratulates him. 

“I've been doing this for a long time,” he says through a laugh. “This is what I've been working for.”

His eyes are bright and there is color on his cheeks and Geno thinks that _maybe_ he would give up the chance for a second cup just so Sid could get his award. 

*

On the second Sunday in February Geno brushed off the rests of the guys invite to hit up a bar after a 5-2 win in Boston and goes back to the hotel. 

He turns on the TV right as Sid’s category is being announced and he sits on the bed with his palms pressed to his knees as the nominees names are being read. 

Taraji P. Henson says, “and the Oscar goes to…..” and takes a long pause before “Sidney Crosby.”

Sids face fills the screen and he covers his mouth with his hand. 

Geno stands up and yells. 

Sid makes his way to the stage and stumbles his way through an acceptance speech. 

He thanks his family, his agent, the director. 

No girlfriend. 

No boyfriend. 

Geno drops back onto the bed and watches Sid, voice thick with emotion as he thanks his parents and his sister again. He watches him shove a hand through his hair which is curling at the edges. His lips are red and his skin is winter pale and his eyes are bright. 

Geno's heart squeezes in his chest. 

“Stupid,” he says. 

He has a crush. 

*

He doesn't mean to do it, but the daydreams start immediately. 

He thinks about making breakfast with him in the morning. Kissing his shoulder through the fabric of his worn cotton t-shirt. 

Driving with him and bickering over radio stations. 

Knowing he's there during a game. Scoring a goal just for him. 

Geno feels warm all over when he thinks of him. Happy.

He still goes out and meets people. But the men all have dark hair and full lips and the women have warm hazel eyes. 

*

The whole team finds out because what Tanger knows Flower knows and what Flower knows the whole team knows. 

They send him photos daily. 

Sidney drinking iced coffee through a straw, wearing dark wash jeans that hug his thighs, kneeling down to sign an autograph for a little kid. 

Before a five day road trip he finds a copy of Sidney's issue of GQ in his stall with a note that says ‘for those lonely hotel room nights.’

There’s a post-it sticking out of the top of it and without even looking he knows what it’s marking. 

Geno has his own copy at home. 

It’s a black and white photo of Sid is black and white leaning against a wall wearing a suit. His tie is loose around his neck and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. There’s just the right amount of stubble on his face and his eyes are a little hooded. 

It’s a good look. 

*

They play game after game and the playoffs are grueling a few times Geno thinks about that night in Boston, the night Sid won his Oscar, and he starts to wonder if he really sold his chance at the Cup for him to win. 

*

Geno lifts the Cup after six games in the finals. 

It feels heavier than it did years ago and as he slips beneath the sheets that night his, body and mind exhausted, his last thought is ‘ _I wonder if Sid watched.’_

*

After the parade but before they're officially released for the summer they're told they have to film a tape piece for the NHL awards. 

Geno only half listens. He's more focused on planning his summer and his day with the cup. All he knows is that he has to show up at the arena, put on his gear, and skate around with the random celebrity the NHL has hired to host the thing. 

Geno is the last to arrive and the team falls into a hush as soon as he enters the room. He’s almost completely dressed by the time Tanger comes over. 

“They tell you who the host is going to be?”

Geno tightens the laces of his skates and shakes his head. 

“Oh this is going to be good,” Flower says from across the room. 

“One guess, G.”

“Don't know. Santa Claus.”

Tanger doesn't say anything and when Geno looks up he's smiling. Something's wrong. 

“Who is it?”

He arches one eyebrow and pushes himself off the edge of his stall. “You'll see.”

“Tell me.” 

Tanger shrugs, bumps fists with Flower and walks out of the dressing room. 

He tries to corner Conor next. 

“You know. I know you know. You tell me.”

Conor shakes his head, keeps his eyes on the ground, and slips right around him.

There’s nothing left for him to do but follow. 

 

He gets one foot on the ice and almost wipes out. 

His team is scattered around but standing at the center is Sidney Crosby in black track pants and a black long sleeved tee talking to a guy holding a camera and a woman holding a clipboard. 

Geno stares and Tanger skates by and taps his stick against Geno’s shins.

“Surprised,” he asks through a grin. 

Geno grips the boards tight enough that his knuckles turn white. “I go home now.”

“You’re the captain, you have to stay.”

“Tell them I’m sick.”

Tanger’s smile drops off his face and his shoulders droop. “You can do this. It’s going to be okay. He’s just a guy.”

“He famous.”

“You’re famous.”

“Not like Sid. Sid is….” Sid is beautiful and charming and he’s laughing at something the cameraman has said, loud and ridiculous and Geno feels his knees go weak. “It’s Sid,” he says helplessly.

“Yes,” Tanger agrees. “And he’s coming over so don’t blow it.”

Geno throws an arm out to try to grab at him but he darts away and Sidney Crosby glides in and takes his place. 

Sid holds his hand out and Geno struggles for a moment as he shakes off his glove so he can take it. 

Sid smiles, crooked and perfect.

“I’m Sid,” he says and Geno nods. “Are you ready to get started?”

Geno stands next to Sid with the team behind them as the producer, Abbie, tells them what's going to happen. 

“Just a few introductions to start, then you'll run a few drills, play around a little. Have fun. Nothing too serious. Sound good?”

The question is directed at Geno but he doesn't realize it until someone shoves him from behind and the rest of the team laughs. 

“What?”

Abbie rolls her eyes and when Geno looks sideways as Sid he's covering a smile behind his hand. 

“I asked how that sounded. Do you have any questions?”

“About what?”

Abbie blinks and Sid puts his hand on Geno's arm, just below the bend of his elbow. He's sure he can feel the heat of it through all the layers he's wearing. 

“We’ll be fine, Abbie, thank you. Maybe we should warm up a bit first.”

She nods and carefully walks back to the bench and the team scatters behind them. Flower heads to one net and Matt to the other and eventually it's just him and Sidney standing at center ice with Sids hand still on his arm. 

“Sorry,” Geno apologizes. “I'm a little bit nervous.”

“What do you have to be nervous about? I'm the one who's skating with the Stanley Cup Champions.”

Geno shrugs like that's no big deal and compared to skating with the man he's been harboring a crush on for _months_ , it isn't. 

Sid moves his hand from his arm to his shoulder and Geno is sweating beneath his gear even though he hasn't done a thing. 

“You're going to be fine. Trust me.” 

*

Sid is graceful on the ice. Quick and confident and competitive as hell. 

Geno’s crush escalates each time Sid wins a faceoff against him or chirps one of his teammates for not being where he needs him to be. 

He skates a circle around Geno with a flush on his face and the camera following him and he's already dreading watching this footage back. He knows there's going to be countless close ups of Geno's heart eyes.

“Your team is pretty good,” Sid says. 

“Yeah. We won cup for a reason. You good.” Geno taps his stick against Sid’s skates. “You learn all this for movie?”

“No, I played hockey long before that. You know, I am Canadian.”

“You ever think about playing. Could always use another forward.”

“The thought crossed my mind but….I don't know. I always kind of wanted to be a goalie.”

“You not crazy enough to be a goalie.” Geno nods down the ice where Flower is slowly stroking his stick with a huge smile on his face. 

“Maybe not. You know Olli is beating you up the ice every time,” he says innocently. “You might want to work on that or you'll never score.”

“I'm not on your team. You don't want me to score.”

“You don't want to impress me?” 

“.....I.” 

The puck drops to the left of them and Sids flying up the ice. Geno hasn't even moved from his spot when Sid buries it behind Flower. 

*

The next play Geno makes sure to beat Olli but Matt blocks his shot. 

Sid skates by and shrugs. “It's a start,” and Geno grits his teeth. 

He's not going to lose. 

Sid smiles at him over his shoulder and Geno's also sure he's just fallen in love. 

*

The game gets a little chippy after that. 

Sid runs his mouth at Tanger and Geno snorts a laugh when he skates away with narrowed eyes. 

“Your boyfriend is bossy as fuck,” he tells him when he gets close enough. 

The camera is down at the other end of the ice and Tanger’s not mic'd up but Geno shushes him anyway. 

“Not my boyfriend.”

“Well he wants you to be.”

“What's that mean?”

Tanger doesn't get to reply because the puck is headed their way, Sid leading the pack. 

He passes it off to Conor and says “are you going to play or are you going to stand there,” before getting the puck back. 

Sids not wearing full gear so it's the gentlest thing Geno has ever done when he checks him against the glass. 

Geno holds him there while the play continues on around them and after a few seconds Sid gives up on trying to squirm free. 

“Is this the only way you can beat me?”

Geno shrugs. “Maybe.” He looks down at him. His cheeks are flushed and there are curls sticking to his forehead. “Hi, Sid.”

“Hi, Geno.”

They smile at each other until the whistle blows. 

Matt’s frozen the puck.

“Still can’t score,” Sid teases as he finally slips away. 

Geno watches him go. 

He's definitely in love. 

*

Sid’s only supposed to be on the ice for an hour but two hours later the cameras have stopped rolling, Abbie keeps checking the time on her phone, and Sid will not stop taking penalty shots against Flower. 

“Sid, we have to get going.”

“Just five more minutes.” 

“They're going to have to drag him off the ice,” Tanger says and Geno nods in agreement. 

*

“You go ask that boy out before someone else does,” Flower says when Sid finally lets him leave the net. “Go ask him to dinner. He’ll say yes.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he likes you,” Flower says. “He spent the whole time flirting with you.”

“He did not.”

“Sid is a nice, polite, Canadian boy. He's only going to be a competitive douche around someone he feels comfortable with.”

“I don't know.” 

“Oh for fuck sakes,” Tanger says with a heavy sigh. He cups his hands around his mouth and yells “Sidney!”

At center ice Sid turns around to look at them. 

Flower bursts out laughing and Geno almost pushes Tanger over the boards. 

Sid starts to slowly skate over and Geno panics. 

“Tacos,” he blurts out and Sid stops short and furrows his brows. 

Flower mumbles “oh my god,” under his breath. 

“You eat tacos?”

“It's like watching a car wreck,” Tanger says and Geno turns around and hisses “this was your idea.”

“I was trying to help you.” He shoves him and Geno slides forward. “Don't screw this up.”

Geno takes a deep breath to try to calm his nerves and skates to him. Their close enough that their toes bump before Geno stops himself but Sid doesn’t back up. 

“I was asking if you want to go get dinner with me. But you don’t have to if you don’t-.”

“I want to,” Sid interrupts. “When?”

“Now. Maybe I go shower first,” he says. Sid looks like he’s glowing but Geno knows that he stinks beneath all his gear. “I’ll be quick and then we’ll go?”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting out here.”

*

It’s a quick walk to the restaurant. 

Sid walks with his hands in his pockets and Geno tries his best not to accidentally sway into him. 

The hostess leads them to a booth near the back and Geno lets Sid pick what side he wants to sit on before he slides on in on the opposite. 

“So,” Sid says as he looks over the menu. “What's good here?”

Geno heaves a sigh. “Sorry. I'm sorry I'm so bad at this. It's just…..it's you and you're here. I see all your movies and watch your show and you're sitting across from me. Don't know what to do. Too nervous.”

“You're nervous? I'm nervous. You're….” Sid waves a hand at him. “You're you. I’ve been watching you for years, ever since you came over here and I was so happy for you when you won the Cup the first time and then this time-”

“You watch?”

“Of course I watched. You’re my favorite player. How could I not watch? I only agreed to host this show because I thought that I might get to meet you and then when they told me that I’d get to skate with you...I was so nervous and then you asked me on a date and-.”

Geno sits up straight. “You think this is date?”

Sid blinks at him with color high on his cheeks. “Isn’t it? I mean, it’s okay if it’s not, you can forget I said anything, that’s fine.”

“No, no,” Geno says quickly, “is date. I want it to be date.”

Sid smiles and Geno kind of wants to spend the rest of his life making that happen. 

They both relax after that. 

The tension that Sid’s been carrying in his shoulders melts away when Geno starts to tell him about his hometown in Russia and Geno laughs loud enough to draw stares when Sid takes a bite of salsa that’s way too spicy for him. 

Sid looks wounded as he takes a big sip of his soda and Geno gently kicks his foot beneath the table as an apology. 

When he pulls his foot back Sid chases it with his own and they spend the rest of the meal with their feet pressed together. 

Geno grabs the bill when when it comes and ignores Sid’s objections.

“You get it next time,” he tells him as he hands the waiter his credit card. 

“What if I pay for dessert? If you know some place we can go.”

Geno gives him a slow once over and says “I know some place we can go.” He genuinely means the ice cream place a ten minute walk away but the way Sid’s eyes darken just enough for him to notice have him thinking something much more intimate. He does have a half gallon of cookies and cream in his freezer at home. 

Geno leads him down the street on the way to the ice cream place. 

Sid still has his hands in his coat pockets but after the first block he pulls one out and lets his swing next to Geno’s. 

Out of the corner of his eye he can see Sid glancing at him every few steps and finally the backs of their hands brush three times before he heaves a huge sigh and wraps his fingers around Geno’s hand. 

“Is this okay,” he asks and Geno answers by lacing their fingers together. “Okay,” Sid says and he does nothing to stop the slow smile that spreads across his face. 

Geno squeezes his hand and matches that smile with his own. 


End file.
